Category: Minnesota T-Wolves Blog

Here’s the Minneapolis Star Tribune reporting on the Timberwolves, who are 34-35 this season and now 7 games behind the Phoenix Suns, who are 9th in the West.

Timberwolves star Kevin Love’s frustration over another loss and his team missing the playoffs for a 10th consecutive season became the stuff of Internet chatter Tuesday, the day after he delivered a down and distracted interview following a loss at Memphis.

Deadspin.com linked the video and concluded with a headline that “Kevin Love Is a Broken Man.” It also theorized these could be Love’s final days as a Timberwolf and suggested the team’s fans are enjoying this part of the season more than Love is.

While that is uncertain, it is certain that Love is not alone in his irritation.

“It’s always frustrating when things don’t go your way,” Wolves coach Rick Adelman said before Monday’s 109-92 blowout loss. “But it also tells you about people when you’re going through frustration. How do you react to that? In this league you have to be resilient. You have to react. I know Kevin’s frustrated. I am, too. When I take him out of the game, it seems like we can’t find too many answers. That’s just the way it is right now.

‘‘I’m frustrated I haven’t been able to find a more consistent rotation. But I don’t know, you just keep trying things.”

Here’s the St. Paul Pioneer Press reporting on the Minnesota Timberwolves, who have to suddenly play amazing basketball and get lucky on top of that if they still hope to somehow qualify for the playoffs:

The Timberwolves’ playoff hopes already were on life support even before they tipped off Sunday against the Phoenix Suns in their only home matinee game of the season.

With the end of the season drawing near, the Wolves were in 10th position in the Western Conference playoff chase five games behind Phoenix, which sat just a game behind Memphis for the eighth and final berth.

A Wolves victory would have sent pulses skipping a bit and renewed enthusiasm for the final weeks.

But only Phoenix moved in a positive direction.

The Suns essentially pulled the plug on the Wolves’ faint playoff hopes with a 127-120 victory in front of 17,866 at Target Center. Markieff Morris scored 25 points and Eric Bledsoe had 21 and P.J.

Here’s the Minneapolis Star Tribune reporting on the Timberwolves, who are a good team but due to the toughness of this season’s Westerrn conference face an uphill battle to qualify for the playoffs:

The way things are going, Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman and his players won’t have to wait 20 games until the season’s conclusion to know whether they are anything more than a team that loses one for every game that it wins.

That answer it being determined nightly. The latest answer, Sunday night’s 111-104 loss to Toronto, silenced the team’s dressing room afterward.

The Wolves have lost two of their past three games at home to Eastern Conference opponents, after returning to Target Center from the season’s longest road trip having won six of seven games.

On Sunday, the Wolves fell back to .500, at 31-31. They remain five games out of the Western Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot with 20 games to play.

“There’s 20 games left, anything can happen,” Wolves star Kevin Love said. “We obviously have to go on some sort of run. If those other teams keep winning and keep pulling games out of their you-know-what, we’re in trouble. We need to have a little bit of luck, too.”

Here’s the Washington Post blog reporting on Minnesota Timberwolves star Kevin Love, who is a brilliant talent on offense, but still in need of improvement as a defender:

The intrigue surrounding Love begins with his unique offensive prowess. In averaging a career-high 26.5 points per game, good for fourth in the NBA, Love is shooting 37.7 percent on three-pointers and has already recorded a career-high 14 games with at least four three-point baskets. His efficiency from behind the arc makes him tough for opponents to guard and would stretch the floor for a team like the Knicks or Lakers, who already feature capable post players.

The UCLA product also has a knack for getting to the foul line. Of the top 10 scorers in the league, only Kevin Durant (9.9) and James Harden (8.7) attempt more free throws per game than Love’s 8.6 through Wednesday, according to NBA.com/stats.

Many of those opportunities stem from Love’s rebounding proficiency, which has helped him record a league-high 50 double-doubles. At 13.1 rebounds per game and 19.6 rebound chances per contest, Love ranks second in the league, according to NBA.com’s player tracking stats. Of those rebound chances, Love grabs 66.8 percent of them and 37.8 percent of those that were contested by other players.

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced that Ronny Turiaf underwent an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Image) this morning at TRIA Orthopedics in Bloomington, Minn. that revealed a right knee bone bruise. He will be sidelined indefinitely.

The injury happened at the 7:15 mark of the fourth quarter of last night’s 104-91 win over the Indiana Pacers.

The 6-10 center has appeared in 23 games, 10 starts, this year for the Wolves, averaging 4.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 20.9 minutes per game.

Here’s the New York Post reporting on Timberwolves star Kevin Love, who for now is… on the Timberwolves.

Love’s name has made the speculation rounds, and with his ability to join the free-agent ranks in 2015, that is not changing. He would be a hit, with his talent, personality and flair. When asked about his future and if he ever gives a thought to New York, he replied with a straight-faced deadpan.

“New York? Right now, I’m thinking about Derek Jeter’s decision. How about that?” Love said.

His standard line is “I want to win” and he’ll think about what he wants to do in 2015 in, well, 2015. He is sharp enough to realize it is a no-win situation.

“If I say that I like Charlotte or ‘Charlotte is a great city, I love spending time there,’ then all of a sudden I’m going to Charlotte,” Love said. “Anything I say is going to be a misconception or be some sort of a headline. It’s silly.”

Here’s the St. Paul Pioneer Press reporting on the Timberwolves, who for now aren’t expected to make any trades. Of course, most teams don’t exactly admit it in advance. Still, here:

Don’t expect the Timberwolves to make a trade before the deadline February 20.

Flip Saunders, the Wolves president of basketball operations, told Wolves Now that he has talked with representatives of teams to gauge interest, “but I’m not hearing anything imminent.”

Saunders said there is a reluctance to deal around the league because of the perception that this year’s draft class is strong. Buzz has centered on possible top picks being Kansas’ Joel Embiid and Andrew Wiggins, Duke’s Jabari Parker, Oklahoma State’s Marcus Smart, Kentucky’s Julius Randle and Dante Exum of Australia.

Here’s the Minneapolis Star Tribune with an update on Timberwolves star Kevin Love:

Kevin Love still is recovering from Tuesday night’s nasty fall, but said after this morning’s shootaround in New Orleans that he will play tonight against the Pelicans in that 8:30 pm ESPN game.

“I’m feeling a little bit better, still pretty sore,” he said. “But I’m going to give it a go tonight.”

Love said he’s “very stiff, very sore” from his whiplashed neck down through his back and into his hip, on which he landed after getting fouled hard by Lakers center Robert Sacre while going to the basket late in Tuesday’s victory.

“Our training staff does a good job, so they’ll get me ready to play by tonight,” Love said. “I’m not going to talk about it too much, just keep my mindset that I’m going to play and play well.”